The Diego Diaries: Week End (307)
-0-At the Bosom of Love
"What do you think of my friends, Ada?"
Ratchet looked down at Sunspot, his sweet earnest face looking back up. "I think that they are very good younglings, son. I think your new friends are wonderful. You will have to be a resource for them, you, Spirit and T-Bar. They are worried about being in school."
"I know. I will take care of them, Ada. We had so much fun. THEY LOVE MY DOG!" He hugged Ratchet tightly, then looked up with a smile. "They're nice. This is going to be fun. More Seekers."
"You're blazing a trail, Sunny Bunny. It will help new Seekers go to school and feel okay because of you," Ratchet said picking him up. He hugged Sunspot, then set him down. "Tomorrow, I will have to go to Earth for a little bit with Uncle Optimus and the Great Elder. I think it would be a good thing if you help everyone with the sparklings."
"I will," Sunspot said glancing around himself. Hero was standing beside Praxus holding her Blue Dog dollie by an ear. Praxus was fishing out something from a pail of toys he had dragged out. She was tweeting to him softly as she watched.
Orion was licking the window.
Again.
Ratchet snorted. "Look at Spud. Little mech has a screw loose," Ratchet said.
Sunspot chuckled. "He's so cute."
The far door opened as Ironhide walked in heavily laden with their usual weekend food. That is, any food they didn't have to fix themselves. Sunspot ran to him and held out his servos. Ironhide used to Sunspot 'helping' handed him a small bag. They walked to the kitchen and put things down.
"What did you get, Only One?" Ratchet said moving sparklings here and there so Ironhide could pass.
"Good stuff," he said pulling a lid off a big box as well as taking Sunspot's bag. "'Italian' its called."
"Smells good," Ratchet said pulling dishes out of the cupboards. "I'll dish up if you get the younglings parked."
Ironhide turned walked to a cupboard nearby where all the booster seats were stored. Placing them, then the sparklings took only a moment. They sat with giant grins as Ratchet dished up 'raviolis', 'spaghetti' and lots of other items. Little plates filled with food were placed in front of the babies along with sippy cups. Ironhide sliding Prowler out of his hold put him in the center of the table on his bouncy chair. He looked at his father, a smile forming on his tiny white face.
"Who is a cute sparkling?" Ratchet said as he put Ironhide's big plate down. Getting his own, he sat too. "What took you so long?"
"I ran into Prowl on the way out. He was coming home and told me about the new liaison officer for us. Apparently, the new one is considered a … 'ball buster' he said."
Ratchet accessed the relevant meanings, then drooped slightly. "Great. Who is it?"
"Someone called Charlotte Mearing," Ironhide said.
Ratchet nodded. "Never heard of her. It is a 'her', right?"
Ironhide nodded. "This person is Director for National Intelligence and has taken over the Autobot brief. I think you're the one who has to deal with her as Prime's intermediary, or so Prowl told me."
"Oh great. Are they Jason Daniels in a dress?" Ratchet asked as he did an internet search. "Apparently she is," he concluded before Ironhide could say a word.
"Where do they find these fools?" Ironhide asked as he helped Hero bite into a ravioli.
"I don't know," Ratchet said. "Why did he bring her up?"
"Apparently, you're going to be meeting her tomorrow in New York. Another reason you're not going."
Ratchet snorted. Grinning, he pressed down on Prowler's chair so he would bounce again. "Dream on, Ironhide."
-0-A trine
"What do you think, Farrell?"
"I think I like Sunspot a lot."
Pause. "I think school will be fun, Farrell. Do you want to go?"
"Cardinal … I think I'll try it. I know you want to go. You can go for sure. I'll go and see how it is."
"I don't want anyone to laugh at me, Farrell."
"No one will, Raptor. Sunspot is going to be there. I think we can try it."
The three nodded rising to walk to the balcony. Boxes of food sat on the table where they had eaten dinner together. Walking around town with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, they had seen how they could get food and other things that they might need or want.
Like toys.
Raptor picked up the ball that had rolled out onto the terrace. "They have football here, Farrell. The season is over, but next time … we have to play." Cardinal smiled. "I like this place."
The others nodded as they knelt to take kits of model aircraft out of the box of toys and games they had gotten from The Sparkling Center. They had left Sunspot and the twins after a while pretending to head for home. Then they doubled back to the Mall of Metroplex. The idea that they could get things like this there and it wasn't stealing was still resonating through their processors. They would sit on the balcony putting the models together until their guardian stopped in to visit.
The next orn was the last one of weekend. Then they would go to school with Sunspot.
-0-In Washington, D. C.
She walked into her house locking the door behind her. Throwing her keys into the basket by the door, she walked onward putting down her coat and briefcase on the table in the kitchen. Checking her messages, she turned walking to her home office. Pulling up a screen on her computer, she looked at the information on the monitor. It was the file containing everything that could be found in American and foreign files about the Autobots.
She was going to meet with the Ambassador, the bot named Ratchet. She didn't think of him as a person or someone whose feelings were of any consequence. She didn't give anyone's feelings much consideration. She was controlling, impatient and overbearing with everyone. She also had no respect for N.E.S.T., her clashes with Glenn Morshower the stuff of legend.
She had fought for and was given the Autobot brief since part of her purview was intelligence. Reporting to the President directly, she had power that no one else had. She could find out anything she wanted, her tentacles currently into everything and everywhere. She now had a clear path to rectifying a number of perceived wrongs including the laxness of their side of the Autobot-human equation.
N.E.S.T was only going to stay in business if she had control of it and its operations. Nothing was going to happen from this day forward that she didn't have controlled. Given that there were home grown terror organizations displaying their ire over the presence of aliens in their midst, she didn't feel that there would be much opposition in the establishment if she took control of things. One never went broke expecting cowardice among the political classes.
She didn't like to lose. She didn't plan to even on the small stuff. Charlotte Mearing was ready to play hardball.
-0-Prime Residence later that evening
"They're all in bed." Prowl walked to the couch and sat peering at the datapad upon which Prime was constructing an outline for his speech. "How's it going?"
"Well," Optimus said nodding. He glanced at Prowl. "Tell me more about the shake up and why it happened?"
"The pressure in the public to do something about The Family, Mech and the other groups is growing among some segments of society and they want a hard aft on point. Apparently, this woman is a hard aft's hard aft. I don't believe she and Glenn get along. I spoke to him about it earlier and he was very upset to hear about this. He told me he intends to protect the relationship no matter what she says or does."
Optimus nodded. "We will have to work together in spite of this obstacle. The relationship we have must be preserved."
Prowl nodded. "I agree," he said. They sat together and worked out the remarks for the following day's speech on Earth.
-0-On the air, national news programs
"What do you suppose we should look for in the Prime's speech tomorrow?" a reporter on a news panel asked.
"First of all, his personal appearance will be a major factor in his reception here. Twenty-five feet tall, literally millions of years old, this will be an imposing moment before he even opens his mouth. I am supposing he will do what he can to reassure Earth that our safety and well being is first and foremost on his mind. He's going to be sure to reiterate the importance of the most important fact, the treaties."
"There has been unrest in some of the countries that are signatories of the Autobot treaties since the bombing campaigns began. Some of the countries who are part of that are making noises about withdrawing," another said.
"It should be clear to all of us given the amount of information we have about the Decepticons as well as programming showing Autobots that we cannot survive against the Decepticons without their support and assistance," another said. "We would be destroyed."
"That will be the biggest thing to overcome, the waffling of allies around the treaties," another said as all present nodded. "That will be the biggest problem for the Prime to overcome."
-0-Rainmaker
His family sat with him discussing their plans for the future. The three youngest sons, all of them hatched in the Diaspora and unused to fighting the way the six older ones were discussed with their genitors plans to go to school and learn trades. He listened and nodded, pleased with their initiative. The six older had no plans to leave the service.
Either way, Rainmaker and his trine were good.
"Your visit to Earth tomorrow … do you wish us to come with you?" one of his older sons asked.
"The teams are chosen as well as the flights. Security is good. I am told it will be broadcast on IntraComm."
His son nodded. "Show time," he said with a grin. "You are going to be famous."
His father grinned and nodded. "Lucky me," he said with a smirk.
-0-The next morning
Ironhide watched the infants go off with his and Ratchet's genitors. They had Prowler too. Until both came back they would keep him too.
-0-At the Residence
Optimus and Prowl left earlier, Venture and Miler taking the infants into servo. They sat having breakfast, chatting together as the sun rose slowly over the horizon.
-0-At the flight line
Kup, Springer, Drift, Bumblebee, Red Wing, Cloudburst and a number of other bots waited together chatting quietly. They were impeccable in appearance, shiny and impressive. They were going to be escorts for the mission. Omega and Kappa would be the ships carrying the two speakers, one for Prime and the other for Rainmaker. Two flights of Seekers waited for the go as well.
They would in under a joor.
-0-The United Nations, New York City, USA, Earth
Glenn Morshower stepped out of his vehicle, his aide and attache following. They walked into the United Nations through the VIP high security entrance. Cameras filmed his arrival since he was the director of the Global Command that was the military umbrella for the operations involving N.E.S.T and the Autobots.
National leaders and their designated representatives had been arriving all morning as the world gathered to take the measure of the Prime of Cybertron who was making his appearance at the building. This time he would be speaking and the world would be listening.
Hard.
-0-Inside
She waited in the room where Morshower was expected to come to wait. She wanted to make sure that he was aware of her appointment. They had no rapport, no common emotional connection. She considered that a good thing. It would help her run the show and get the terrorists that were making things difficult internationally.
The door opened and Glenn Morshower stepped inside, pausing a moment when he saw her.
"Hello, General Morshower. Its about time you got here," Charlotte Mearing said with slight irritation.
Glenn Morshower stared at her a moment, then sighed. "You," he said with disdain.
-0-TBC
05-19-2013